The Arrangement
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: I have no real summary for this. this is another fem Aladdin/Sinbad fic. it was entirely by chance that he managed to catch sight of her dancing underneath pale light of the moon. She was everything he wanted and wished for in a potential mate. Beauty, brains, power- now if only he could get her to agree to be his Queen. Rated M. Please read and Reveiw.
1. Chapter 1

_The first time he noticed Aladdin's true self..._

It was a most peculiar sight to see, Sinbad thought as he watched the moonlit dance taking place below him. True enough, Aladdin was a somewhat _strange_ and enigmatic child. He had been ever since the day that they had first met several months ago just outside of the former kingdom of Balbadd.

Finger's tightening ever so slightly on his goblet of wine, Sinbad's honey colored eyes took in the scene in his garden with a great deal of interest and perhaps dare he say it? _Fascination_.

Who knew that Aladdin was such a multi-talented person? He wondered as he watched the transformed body of the young magi stretch the arms of his new form over head, as if he were reaching for the moon before he suddenly started to move. The movements were subtle at first and then grew gradually less so.

The magi's hips swayed in a slow motion that was enthralling before quickening as his feet and arms began their graceful motions. And in the span of mere moments, it was as if the night itself were alive with some unheard melody that only the young magi seemed privy to.

His honey colored eyes avidly watching the sway of the magi's lithe, petite body as he spun himself around and around. His long dark blue hair wrapped around his neck and shoulders as he moved.

There was such a look of...peace? No- that wasn't it, Sinbad thought with a slow shake of his head. He knew peaceful expressions and Aladdin's face did not hold one of those. If it had, then the magi would likely be on his deathbed right now. No, Aladdin's expression wasn't one of those.

But nor was it the one of his usual serenity/bemusement.

No, this night Aladdin's expression was far more focused and intense. Almost as if he were attempting to work something out in his mind. Perhaps contemplating another transformation? Sinbad wondered as Aladdin's dance finally came to an end and the magi's body was enveloped in a dense smoke-like fog again.

This time when the smoke-like fog finally cleared up, Aladdin's had resumed his pervious child-like form. Which was a little bit different from the one that he'd had before. Mostly because this time Aladdin's form wasn't what it had been previously, which had been that of a beautiful young woman.

No- this time Aladdin's body was a perfect blend of the change in gender and his young age. Frankly Sinbad was impressed that the boy could physically change his own body in such a way without causing irreparable harm or even death to himself.

How interesting, the king thought as he watched through narrowed eyes while the now (female) Aladdin wiped her forehead with one arm to rid herself of any sweat that had accumulated on her skin before sighing tiredly and then slowly making her way inside as Sinbad grinned behind the rim of his goblet.

If he didn't know any better, he'd almost dare to think that the child magi was actually a female instead of a male. It was almost a pity that Aladdin wasn't. If he had been, then Sinbad would have most assuredly taken measures to secure the magi as his own.

For his kingdom's sake, of course.

Still, he found tonight's events to be both very enlightening and entertaining to say the least. He'd be teasing the magi endlessly come morning if not for the fact that he wished to keep the event's of the night a secret so that he could watch Aladdin a little more and truly determine whether or not he/she had been keeping things from him.

And if that were true...well, he'd deal with it once he had all of the facts together.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Aladdin was neither seen nor heard from for several hours passed noon before Sinbad received a knock on his study door from Alibaba and Morgiana. Both teens peeked in just long enough to catch his undivided attention and asked if he or Ja-far, who usually kept him company while he did his paper work (mostly because he tended to slack off if he wasn't there) had seen their young friend.

Upon Sinbad's reply of having not seen the young magi all morning, as well as Ja-far's own reply the two had then exchanged a look that clearly spoke of their anxiousness to find the child magi before quickly excusing themselves and scampering from the room before he could so much as ask them what was going on.

Or at least, what they must be thinking was going on anyways.

Resuming his work for another few minutes, his mind kept straying to the events of last night and a little while ago before he simply put his work down and slowly stood up from his seat and walked around his desk and made a beeline for the door as Ja-far called out behind him and asked him what he was doing.

Sinbad merely replied that he needed to get some air and then slipped out of the study before his friend could so much as tie him to his chair like he usually did when he slacked off on his work.

Walking down the hall, Sinbad took the time to stop and ask anyone who passed him if they had seen the young magi at all in the past few hours, and got the same replies that he and Ja-far had given to Alibaba and Morgiana before they had run off to parts unknown.

No one had seen the child.

 _Not. A. Blessed. Soul._ To say that it was a mite suspicious to the king would be an understatement of epic proportions. After all, how difficult could it be to keep track of one, blue haired and violet eyed, mini sorcerer of creation? He might have been able to answer said question on his own- if not for the fact that he ran into Yamriha and learned that Aladdin had missed several day's worth of magic lessons and earned the woman's wrath in the process.

After leaving Yam to storm his palace halls, he began to wonder if perhaps he simply should leave Aladdin to his/her fate and hide himself away somewhere until Yamriha's temper was satiated. However upon reaching the magi's room and silently slipping inside he noticed a few... _oddities_ that he doubted anyone else would have noticed right off the bat.

For instance, Aladdin was still in the same form he/she had been in when he had last seen him/her last night after leaving the garden. He/She was laying, partially curled up on his/her stomach sound asleep on the bed. And there seemed to be a mirage or illusion spell of some sort in place to keep him/her from being seen. Much less found.

If not for the fact that Sinbad commanded much more ruhk than the average person/mage then even _he_ would have missed the slight ripples in the spell cast around Aladdin's resting place.

Eyeing the spell with a little bit of wariness and suspicion, he then set about finding a way to unravel it after attempting to reach out and touch Aladdin, and getting a painful shock from the spell. Causing the magi to shift slightly on the bed before becoming still again.

It took him several moments to pin-point any weakness in the spell surrounding the young magi, but he did inevitably find one and took a few more moments in which to unravel it. Upon doing so- the spell sparked several times as if it were trying to fix itself before then falling away and leaving only a very faint physical presence behind consisting of the used up ruhk.

Walking over to the bed, Sinbad slowly reached out and gently laid his hand on Aladdin's slender shoulder, causing the magi to jerk and bolt upright and look at him through sleep glazed eyes that appeared to reflect a certain amount of panic.

Though _why_ that was, he didn't know nor did he understand. But he would be sure to ask the child some questions later on about his/her behavior when Aladdin finally said in a demanding tone, "What are you doing here?"

Sinbad's only reaction to the magi's words was to tilt his head slightly to the side as the child looked away from him for a moment and then made a sound much to dark to be a mere child's, and then scrubbed small hands over his/her delicately featured face as the magi growled out. "Oh fucking hell!"

If Sinbad had had any questions before about Aladdin's- er, _secret talents_ \- the fact that the child had just swore, and within hearing range of another person at that, when the child normally didn't say such foul language no matter what was going on...was an automatic attention grabber for the king.

"What do I have to do to get some goddamn peace? Spill blood?" The magi snapped at no one in particular before then shifting those violet eyes to his person and snarling out, "That spell shouldn't have ever been damaged or broken, especially by you!"

"What exactly was the spell for, Aladdin?" He finally decided to ask to see if anything about him breaking the spell he/she told him, justified her anger towards him.

"I specifically made that spell for the purpose of allowing me to rest. Not _sleep_ like humans, but an actual honest to god rest. Occasionally I slip into a coma-like state and stay that way for several days. The state of rest I'm in helps me to recharge my magic. Do you think it's frigging easy to cast all kinds of spells without causing my own body to wear down from the excess? Because it doesn't work like that."

"When a person uses any magic, no matter how little or great- they place themselves in a certain amount of risk. Great magic's, spells to create barriers, change forms and summon others and things to you expend far more energy than even the ruhk can fix. And if it goes on for long periods of time, one's natural lifespan can be significantly cut by _years_. Not only that but tapping into them caused a great deal of weariness and harm. Most simply aren't aware of it." Aladdin explained to him in an slightly impatient tone.

"Ah. I see," He didn't really, and he would probably ask Yamriha questions about the subject. Though Aladdin seemed to know a great deal more about what his/her body needed than anyone else. "So you need to rest to recharge your ability. Though I am a mite curious how it was so easy to awaken you from your...rest?" He said almost thoughtfully as he took a step back from the bed and waited for him/her to respond when he/she merely gave him a 'are you fucking dumb' look before gritting out from between clenched teeth.

"Because you wield your abilities so carelessly, you are in many ways deemed as a threat to me. Especially during the time that I need to rest." It was an unpleasant thing to hear from the young magi given that he was rather fond of him/her, but at least the child was finally being honest with him about some of the concerns that had never been brought up before.

Nodding his head slowly as he absorbed this new information, he decided that he had pestered the child enough and it was time to leave Aladdin to rest for the next few days so that he/she didn't suffer any ill effects from what he/she had just told him of.

"Very well, I will leave you to rest then. But before I do...are you aware that you are currently a...female?" Sinbad said, hoping to get some sort of answer about the change in Aladdin's gender from the magi only to find himself being kicked out of the room by a blushing, angry looking chibi.

"Stay out and stop asking questions about things that aren't any of your business!" Aladdin shouted at him as he slowly pushed himself upright just in time to see the door to the magi's room slam shut and a barrier to fall into place in front of it that would keep even his butt out.

Getting back to his feet, Sinbad carefully dusted himself off and straightened his clothing as his mind quickly analyzed everything that he had just learned.

One) Aladdin was a girl. A young one, sure, but a female nevertheless.

He was pretty much certain of that now. And as such, he needed to take steps to secure her.

And two) Aladdin needed to rest for the next few days.

Which meant that he would have to dissuade anyone from bothering her. It shouldn't be all that hard, though it might be a bit difficult to get Alibaba and Morgiana to leave her alone. It might take a little bit of convincing on his end, but he was sure that he could tell them something to keep them from tearing his palace apart until Aladdin's male form was finally within everyone's sight again.

In the meantime, Sinbad needed to hold a meeting and prepare to make his kingdom Aladdin's future home. For good. In fact, perhaps it was finally time for him to consider _that_...


	3. Chapter 3

Later that day, sometime after everyone had eaten for lunch- Sinbad called a meeting with his generals and invited both Alibaba and Morgiana to sit in on it so that they could give their own thoughts. Once everyone was within his study, he had Yam place a barrier around the room so that no one could spy on them- just in case- and then called the meeting to order.

"I've asked each of you here today to ask your opinion on something important," Sinbad began as he steepled his fingers together as he rested his elbows on the edge of his desk and peered at his generals and Aladdin's friends from over the top of his knuckles. "As many of you are aware- each of you at one time or another have advised me to take a wife and secure the kingdom's future. It has just recently come to my attention that a potential Queen, has been hiding right under my nose. I wish to know all of your thoughts on my taking her as a bride?"

Everyone stared at him, half in comical displays of slack jawed disbelief and others excitement. Whereas Alibaba and Morgiana merely exchanged a look and both shrugged and then turned their attention back to the king.

"Well naturally, we would be very happy if you took a wife Sin," Hinahoho said as several of the others agreed with him. Not so much in actual vocals, but more like stupid grins and nods. "After all, what man doesn't long for a mate to share his life with?"

"And children! Don't forget children!" Pitsi said as she jumped up and down in place like a little kid instead of a twenty something year old woman.

Sinbad gave a small amused chuckle before sobering and saying, "I'm afraid that children would not be in the picture for quite a while. I want to wait for several years so that my bride would have ample time to prepare herself for the possibility of children. I would also have to make special allowances in regards to her personality and physical health."

Everyone reacted about the way that he expected them too, they all began speaking all at once. Firing question after question at him until he was feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Finally when it felt like his head was about to start spinning, he held a hand up and silence fell over the occupants of the room.

"Please if you have questions, speak them one at a time. I've already been yelled at, snapped at, and physically kicked from my future intended's room- I do not need anymore of a headache than I already have."

"Hey! you said that you were already kicked out of your future bride's room! Does that mean that she's here within the palace?" Pitsi asked.

"It does."

"Is she a foreign diplomat?" Hinahoho asked.

"No."

"Sin is right, we have no diplomats in the palace at this time." Ja-far said.

"Is she a princess?" Yam asked curiously.

"No. In actuality, the person that I have chosen is...well- a mage of sorts. A very powerful one." Sinbad said as Yam automatically blushed and everyone took a moment to look at her before Sin snapped, "Hey! Knock that off. Yamriha is a beauty, sure. And a very powerful mage as well, but I believe that there is someone else who wants her for themselves and I'm not about to encroach on his woman." Sinbad said as he looked pointedly at Sharrkan, the palace swordsman.

The man caught Sin's look and quickly turned red and looked away from his king's penetrating stare.

"But wait- I-If the powerful mage isn't Yamriha, then who is it? The only other mage within the kingdom is Aladdin and he's not a-" Ja-far automatically stopped speaking as he caught sight of the expression on Sinbad's face as he looked away from the lot of them as Alibaba shot up out of his chair with an ear splitting screech.

"Aladdin! You want to marry Aladdin?! Are you insane? Aladdin is a boy!"

"Well, actually..." Morgiana began to say as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress. Alibaba's eyes automatically going from Sinbad's to her. "I've kind of had this nagging feeling ever since I met up with Aladdin again before we reached Balbadd. He- looked and smelled different than he did before. And not too long after that I started noticing other things as well. Everything from Aladdin's facial features, build, even the sound and pitch of his voice- practically screams 'girl'. So one day while we were traveling together, I asked him about it. He showed me his true form and then explained the reasons behind why he hid himself in such a way."

"B-But your still referring to her as a boy. Why?"

"Oh. Um, he sort of asked that I do it. He said that as he is currently, he doesn't exactly feel like a girl. For a long time he wasn't even sure that he _was_ one. He seemed...very _confused_ about himself as a person. He even seemed to think that part of the reason he felt the way he did about his true gender had something to do with the fact that his memories were erased by Ugo before he appeared in this world." Morgiana said as she shifted uncomfortably.

Alibaba looked as if he had just turned to stone or something, while everyone else just seemed terribly confused.

"Hn. So Aladdin possibly wasn't totally aware of the fact that she was a girl, maybe up until you two spoke..."

"No, I think she had it figured out before then. There was sort of an incident that caused her a great deal of panic and stress. I- had to explain what was happening to her."

The guys all looked totally clueless as to what she was talking about with the exception of Drakon and Hinahoho, and Yam. As Hina finally said thoughtfully, "So she started her cycle's."

Every man in the room that was unmarried and unattached to someone of the female persuasion, all cringed at the mention of the monthly nightmare that they had all been forced to endure in one way or another.

"She thought that there was something seriously wrong with her and fainted from the panic and stress."

 _"Ah."_ Was all that everyone aside from Sinbad and Morgiana seemed able to say as Sinbad finally asked,

"Does anyone object to Aladdin becoming our Queen?" His question was met with silence for a moment before someone asked,

"Is marrying Aladdin a wise move?"

At which point Sinbad felt as if he were ready to bang his head on his desk but refrained so that he could reply, "I think marrying her would be the only wise course of action that can be taken. It is also far kinder than imprisonment, torture, and other unscrupulous method that less than noble. I've seen girls like Aladdin, who wielded great power, _destroyed_ by people like those. And frankly I would rather bind her to me as my wife and protect her and allow her what freedoms I can- than become one of those _monsters_ that would destroy her."

"You aren't one of those people Sin." Dracon said.

"I know that and you know that. But I'm afraid of what Aladdin will think of my idea once I ask her. Which is why I have a very important job for you, Alibaba, Morgiana," Both teens looked at him with a sinking feeling in their stomachs as he said, "I want the two of you to convince Aladdin that marrying me and taking on the role of my Queen is in her best interest."

Both Alibaba and Morgiana stared at Sinbad for several moments before Alibaba finally placed a hand on Morg's shoulder and glared at the king as he replied, " _No_. If you want to marry Aladdin then you need to convince her on your own and not drag us into it. Aladdin is our friend, and we won't tell her that something she doesn't want is in her best interest because it would be a lie. And I refuse to betray her trust in such a way." The look that passed between Sinbad and Alibaba was blood chilling.

Both men obviously didn't like to hear what the other had said when Morgiana tried to disarm the situation by suddenly saying, "We aren't trying to be rude, King Sinbad, but Alibaba is right. You shouldn't have asked us to betray Aladdin's trust in such a way. I seriously doubt that Aladdin would appreciate it much either especially since this would not be the first time someone has attempted to bind her to them and their kingdom in such a manner."

At this Sinbad's eyes flickered to the young fanilis as he asked, "What do you mean?"

Morgiana looked incredibly uncomfortable before saying, "Were you aware of the fact that Aladdin spends most waking hours trying to exhaust himself? He told me once it was so that he wouldn't dream of before."

"Before?"

Morgiana nodded her head slowly as she said, "Aladdin told me once that this is not the first time that he has walked this world. That all of those times ended, very, _very_ badly for him. That he wasn't supposed to remember, but from time to time he had nightmares about those times and would awaken crying, covered in sweat and _screaming_. When he told me that Ugo did something to his memories, I managed to put two and two together after witnessing one such episode when we were traveling towards Blabadd."

"Aladdin was...beyond terrified. Even when I grabbed him to keep him from throwing himself into the fire that I had made, he was inconsolable for many hours after awakening. I held him as he told me such horrific things. He told me about being imprisoned, tortured, beaten, tied down to a dirty bed and...used for breeding purposes. His power was bound somehow, making him little more than an ordinary human. And things got so much worse from there." Morgiana was crying now, her voice trembling as she told Sinbad and the others the conclusion of Aladdin's previous stay's in the world in which they lived.

To say that all of them looked more than a little green would be a gross understatement.

Sinbad looked positively ill and Alibaba wasn't much better as Aladdin's truth rang out in the silence of the room between Morgiana's sobs.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Aladdin killed himself to escape!"_

Morgiana's voice had been ringing in Sinbad's head for the past four days since the meeting to discuss whether or not he should secure the young magi as his bride and he had to say, the outcome of the meeting had ben not only incredibly informative, but had helped him to plan out his next move.

He wasn't sure how Aladdin would react to it when he told her what he was planning to do- in all likelihood, she may think him like the others that had treated her so poorly before. It wasn't exactly a nice thought, but he would much rather push through with his plan to secure her as his Queen and then let her scamper off to parts unknown for a little while knowing that his name and her new title would offer her a measure of protection.

He wasn't doing this to be mean or even cruel. Truly he wasn't.

He really wanted to protect her from others like the ones before. Others whom would cause her unnecessary physical and mental harm. On the other hand, she was a magi- and he wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of butting heads with her over this.

 _But I would if I had too._ He thought to himself as he sat down to eat breakfast with Alibaba, Morgiana and his generals while wondering if the plans that he had already put into motion were coming to fruition. It was of course during his silent musings, that Aladdin (the male version of her anyways) finally showed up.

"Aladdin!" Alibaba practically shouted, drawing everyone else's undivided attention to the magi as he suddenly jumped up out of his chair and ran over to the girl and practically threw himself at her, knocking her over onto her back as he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. "We were so worried about you! Where were you? Are you okay?"

Aladdin gave him one of her normal bemused expressions before grinning and saying, "Oh, I wasn't far. I simply had something that I needed to do- that's all."

Alibaba grinned at the magi and helped her up ask Aladdin explained that where she had been- she had forgotten to take some food with her and she was really hungry. Earning a laugh from the blond teen as he led her over to the large table where Sin and the others were sitting, watching and listening to the exchange and then helped Aladdin to her seat before the magi began to fix her plate and asked what everyone had been up to for the past few days.

There was a slight shift in atmosphere for a several moments, a sobering mood of sorts seemed to hang over everyone's head before Sinbad broke the silence by clearing his throat and then picking up his wine goblet as he said, "I'm going to be hosting a ball of sorts in several days time to look for a bride," Of course this was a partial lie. One that he needed Aladdin to trust without question. "I'm going to have many nobles and diplomats present and wanted to know if you wished to make an appearance as well?"

Aladdin paused in mid reach for one of the heavily laden food dishes sitting not even several inches from her hand as she seemed to mull over his question before asking suspiciously, "I'm not going to have to do any magic tricks or anything am I?"

Sinbad blinked at the question and briefly wondered where that had come from when he realized that it must have been something that others in her previous lives had made her do.

"No Aladdin. No magic, no tricks. You do not even have to be present for the whole duration of the ball if you do not wish or begin to feel uncomfortable." It was then that Aladdin cast him a look through slightly narrowed eyes, her quick mind going over his words before realization dawned on her and she turned to Morgiana and said in a slightly accusing tone.

"You told!" Causing the young fanalis to flinch slightly and give the magi an apologetic look.

"I-I'm sorry. But they needed to know." She said as Aladdin growled and then stood up from her seat and promptly left the room, despite Sinbad, Alibaba, Morgiana and several others calling after her to return.

(**********************************************************************************************************************************)

Aladdin walked the halls of the palace- not exactly felling happy, but not really pissed that her secrets were out either. It was more like she was... _disappointed_. But it wasn't like she could totally blame Morgiana for telling anyone, even if she had been sworn to secrecy.

After all if Aladdin had been in her right mind the night that she had had that nightmare, and hadn't spoken about what had happened to her in her previous lives- then she wouldn't be in her current position.

Scrubbing her face with her hands, she took a moment to mentally shake herself as she thought. _This is so humiliating_. As she reached up and wiped at her eyes with slightly shaky hands only to have them come away wet as she tried to reign in her emotions.

Dammit she hadn't cried (like really, really cried) in ages. And yet here she was, wasting her fucking tears on the humans again. _Stupid jerks!_ Why the hell couldn't they leave well enough alone? She wondered as she simply stood there for several moments when she sensed someone- or rather several someone's- behind her.

Stiffening a little bit, she slowly turned her head to glare at whoever was there but softened her expression a bit when she saw Morgiana and Alibaba standing there. And behind them a little ways- making a really lame attempt to hide around the last corner that she had walked by- was Sinbad and several of the generals.

Sighing because she knew that she had to face each of them at some point, she turned and looked at her friends as Morgiana opened her mouth to begin apologizing to her for letting her secret slip when Aladdin cut her off. "Don't apologize Morgiana. It pisses me off when you apologize for something stupid."

The fanalis looked a little bit startled for a moment and then looked down at the floor as Alibaba took a small step forward and then knelt down so that they were eye to eye and gave her a slightly awkward smile before saying gently, "I was a little bit mad at you for hiding this from me."

"I would imagine so."

"Then why did you?"

"I would have mentioned all of it if I had felt it was of significance." Aladdin said as she reached up and slowly pulled her turban/dungeon item off of her head and let it simply hang from her fingertips as she gazed at her two friends.

Alibaba reached out and carefully placed his hands on her small shoulders and shook her a little bit as he said, "You don't think the fact that your _hiding_ yourself from the world- _from us_ \- nor the fact that your _suffering_ and spend nights in your room, screaming of _any_ significate's whatsoever?!"

"No...not really." Aladdin said tiredly as her friend glared at her as he slowly released his grasp on her.

"I never took you for a fool, Aladdin." Alibaba said quietly before he slowly got back to his feet and straightened his spine until he was towering over her. Aladdin said nothing more to defend her actions thus far, to be honest, she really couldn't defend her actions thus far.

And Alibaba knew that. He hated it, but he knew it.


	5. Chapter 5

Aladdin stood where she had been even after Alibaba and Morgiana had left, looking more than a little angry, lost, and in pain before finally shaking her head and then turning and continuing to walk the same way that she had been going before her friends had come after her.

Her mind analyzing every little thing that had been done and said so far.

She had long dismissed the fact that she was being watched by Sinbad and several of his generals since she had nothing else to say to any of them at the moment, and simply decided to retreat to someplace quiet so that she could think for a while.

She needed to know what to do now. Especially since she doubted that anyone would just _drop_ certain details that had come to light. Like her gender and her past lives. However Alibaba, Morgiana, even Sinbad and his generals- from what she had noticed of each of their personalities so far- were sort of like dogs with a bone whenever they either wanted to know something or found something out about someone.

It was a quality that she sometimes both admired about them and hated.

And right now... She was hating it. _A lot._

There had been at one point during her conversation with Alibaba that she had wanted to rip some of her hair out and scream, _Has no_ _one heard of fucking privacy before?!_ But of course it would have only caused more issues if she had done so, so she had kept her mouth shut.

Besides, Alibaba and Morgiana as the two people closest to her- had a right to question her about her choices in hiding things. Right now they probably felt as if she didn't trust them and wondered if they could even trust her.

Even though she could honestly say that she had never really lied to them, merely omitted certain truths and let them jump to their own conclusions- they probably didn't see things that way.

 _God I'm such a bitch._ She knew that she needed to apologize to them at some point. _Just not right now_. She thought to herself as she walked the halls aimlessly.

She had completely forgotten about the fact that Sinbad and some of the others had been watching her earlier. So when she felt the presence of the king of Sindria not too far away from her as she walked, she wasn't exactly sure how to react.

On one hand she wanted to turn around and smash something over the jerks head and share the headache that all of this emotional crap was giving her, and on the other hand...she just wanted someone to hold her and let her sort things through and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

Even though she wasn't really naïve enough anymore to truly think _everything_ would be fine. She felt the air around her stir as she caught the faint rustling of clothing brushing against skin and tilted her head somewhat so that she could look at the person walking on her right while managing to locate the others whom were walking a little ways behind her and Sinbad, as well as around them.

"Tell me Sinbad, do you enjoy playing games with other people's lives?" Aladdin asked after a moment or so. There was no anger, no hatred, nor malice behind her words. Merely curiosity. And yet Sin flinched as if she had just struck him. How odd.

"I was not aware that I was playing games with anyone's life."

"So it's a subconscious thing then?"

He opened his mouth to deny it, but then snapped his jaw shut with a slightly audible click of his teeth and looked away for a moment before finally answering, "Perhaps. But I didn't mean to cause such trouble between you and-"

"You didn't. Alibaba and Morgiana are feeling betrayed right now. They are wondering why they were not good enough for me to trust with all of my secrets, and probably wondering if they can trust me. This outcome was inevitable, whether you had interfered or not. So I cannot truly blame you for the part that you have played."

Sinbad looked back down at her for a moment and was wondering what he could say to her when she finally said, "Curiosity is a normal and natural thing. It's also one of the things that makes human's so great. Curiosity about the world, it's people, even the plants and animals and how things function have caused mankind to grow by incredible leaps and bounds in only a few short years."

"It drives you to become more than you are, and to become greater than you are. It helps you to learn things that you might not otherwise learn. However there are drawbacks to curiosity as well. Often times it has caused contention between others and even destroyed lives. It was general curiosity about humans and their nature that caused me so much pain and sorrow and suffering in each of my previous lives..." Aladdin stopped walking for a moment, Sinbad forced himself to stop as well and then turned to face her.

"I wanted to know if there were humans in this vast world just like me. I never knew that as a magi I was something more than human, it never even occurred to me. At those times, I was the only magi in this world and though I was much similar to the way I usually act around others- humans didn't see _me_ as a friend, or anything in a friendly light. They saw my power and potential and nothing else. To be perfectly honest, when I left the sacred palace again this time- I was once again worried that history would repeat itself. In fact there are very few things in this world that I fear _beyond_ that. I no longer even fear death, and that's _excruciating_ to experience even once. And I've done it more than a hundred times!"

"Aladdin..." Sinbad said as he knelt down and reached out to bring the girl close to him so that he could comfort her when he noticed that she was beginning to cry and felt his heart ache in his chest at the sight. Wrapping his arms around the girl, he pulled her against his chest and simply held her as she buried her face against his shoulder and sobbed, her little fingers clutching his intricately made, dark blue/violet outer robe as Sinbad said, "Aladdin I want you to listen to me- the people that did those things to you before- they were sick. I'm not saying that that excuses them, because it doesn't. But you have nothing to fear from me or anyone else. _Not here._ I promise you that anyone like those people, if they should come here seeking you- they will _suffer_ for it."

Aladdin simply burrowed her face as deeply against his shoulder as she could in response to his words as she felt him begin to stand back up with her wrapped up in his arms and started walking.

"Sin-" She heard Ja-far begin to say when his king cut him off.

"I can't leave her alone right now."

"I know- but you still have paper work and you need to finalize the plans for the ball..."

"No, not right now. I refuse to leave her like this, not when it could cause even more damage to her. If everything absolutely needs to be done today- then bring everything to my room and I will work on it while she rests."

If Ja-far was going to say anything more in protest, he didn't bother. Though she could very plainly hear Hinahoho ask if either of them would need anything. Sinbad made a point of telling the man to see that some food and drink was sent to his room since she missed breakfast and to make sure that something was sent there for lunch and dinner as well and then walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

To say that Sinbad was upset by Aladdin's breakdown, would be an understatement. To mention that he suddenly found the task of winning her over and agreeing to marry him, as daunting, would be _painfully_ understated. But nothing was as painful as seeing the state that Aladdin was in where she currently lay curled up on her side, asleep on his bed and knowing that he wasn't sure how much more she could take emotionally before she simply broke.

Before putting her to bed, he had had to sit down with her in his lap and make sure that she ate something for breakfast. Which had taken quite a little bit of coaxing on his part since she had simply sat there and stared blankly ahead, as if he wasn't even there.

It was unnerving to say the least.

Still he had managed after a time to finally get her to eat, even if it was just a little bit of cut up fruit, and some meat and bread and to drink some juice before he'd helped her lay down. She had been asleep ever since. Missing out on lunch and several hours after while he had sat at a makeshift desk and done a majority of the paper work and finalized as much of the plans for the ball he intended to use to introduce Aladdin to the other nobles of his court as well as the foreign diplomats ect.

He had already sent word to a shop within the town outside of the palace walls, that was well known for the quality silk, satin, and linen clothing that they made. His orders were very specific, he wanted several gowns made for Aladdin. One white one with gold embroidery around the neckline, sleeves, and hem. A sapphire colored one, a ruby red colored one, an amethyst colored one, and a vivid violet colored one.

He already had some accessories picked out from his treasury. Some gold bangle bracelets, some pearls, some diamonds and rubies and sapphires, and some simple gold headpieces and crowns with gemstones set within them that would look quite fetching on Aladdin.

He had even already asked, Pitsi and Yamriha to cut, trim, and style Aladdin's long silky hair so that she wouldn't stand out too much. After all, most noble girls/women that he knew of didn't keep their hair in slightly messy braids all the time.

They were far too concerned about looking nice to care about much else.

And yes, he knew that Aladdin likely wouldn't like what was being done to her, but it was only for one night and he wanted very much for everyone to see what a lovely treasure he had found. If she wished to kick his ass for it after the ball- then it was probably no less than he deserved from her.

And the reason behind him going to such lengths wasn't because he really cared about how Aladdin appeared to others, the child could roll around in mud and dirt and still show up at the ball and he wouldn't care.

He supposed that the more immature side of him simply wanted to dress the child up like a little doll at least once. He did however decide to push back the date of the ball so that Aladdin would have some time to return to her former happy, cheerful self.

Looking back over at the small waif-like girl, he couldn't help but think that he missed her happy, cheerful expressions and smiles. He was about to begin working on something else, when there was a knock on his bedroom door and he sighed and set aside what he had planned to tackle and slowly stood up.

The hours spent sitting down, hunched over his work had done a number on his spine if the cracking sounds he heard coupled with the pain he felt were any indication at all. Moving as quickly and quietly as he could, he reached his door before the fifth knock could sound and possibly awaken Aladdin, and slowly opened the door to find Alibaba standing there.

"Alibaba, what are you doing here?" Sinbad wondered aloud as he noted the young man's almost angry expression.

"I heard about what happened earlier," The teen said before asking, "How is she?"

"She's resting at the moment. Do you want to come in for a few minutes and see her?"

Alibaba gave a curt nod as Sinbad stepped back to allow him entrance into his room. The two didn't really say another word to each other until Alibaba was next to the bed, staring down at the pale face of his young friend. There was a million things that he wanted to do and say right then.

Most of which were angry, and yes even a little bit hurtful- however one look at Aladdin's state and all of those things vanished from his mind and he sighed before quietly asking Sin.

"What happened earlier- was it bad?"

"Bad enough. I've never seen Aladdin breakdown like that. I've never even seen her cry! And that was before..." Before he had learned of her gender, before he had learned of her past, how she had lived, and suffered and needlessly died.

Alibaba scrubbed his face with his hands a made a funny little sound. "I've never seen Aladdin cry. I've never even seen Aladdin well and truly distraught before. Unless you count the time in Balbadd when she was fighting Judar."

"Yes, I remember." Sinbad said.

"What do you intend to do now? Have your plans changed?" Alibaba asked out of the blue. Deciding to redirect their conversation to something else less painful.

"I still intend to try and secure Aladdin as my Queen. But my plans have changed a little bit. I don't want her to think that I am doing this for the same reasons that the others did."

"Aren't you?" Alibaba asked, his gold colored eyes staring the king down. Sinbad visibly bristled a bit at the younger man's accusation before growling out.

"No."

"Really? You know ever since finding out that Aladdin was a magi- you were uncommonly kind to her and to myself and Morgiana as well. And when Balbadd fell, you even brought all three of us here. I've been meaning to ask you about your real reasons for a while now. But why did you bring all three of us? I was the only royal aside from my two half brothers. For what reason did you need Morgiana and Aladdin to accompany me here? They are not royal-" Alibaba was cut off mid rant when the king of Sindria, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him up off of the ground and snarled in his face.

"That sentence right there merely proves your ignorance several times over, Alibaba. Despite what you think right now, Aladdin is more of a royal than any of us could ever hope to be. She wields more power, more potential and can easily sway the heart of all those she comes across if she so desires. Not only that but she is capable of greater _influences_ than either of us can possibly imagine. That is what it means to be a magi, sorcerer of creation. And none of it is why I wish to protect her! So stop running your mouth about things that you know little to nothing about." And with that, Sinbad dropped Alibaba and then quietly sat down on the edge of his bed to busy his hands by pulling the sheets up over Aladdin's shoulder and carefully tucking it in before saying, "I think you have said enough for the time being, please leave. When Aladdin wakes I will tell her that you came by. But do not expect her to come to you right away. This whole ordeal has reopened some serious wounds within her heart and mind. And having everyone around her attacking everyone else isn't helping matters any."

Alibaba said nothing more, he didn't even act as if he had really heard Sinbad. Her merely turned and left the room, quietly slamming the door behind him, causing Aladdin to jerk in her sleep and whimper while Sinbad glared in the direction of the door and for a moment contemplated going after Alibaba and beating the hell out of him before turning his attention back to Aladdin and leaning down and whispering to her until he was certain that she was sleeping again before he slowly removed himself from her side and went back to his work.


	7. Chapter 7

Days passed and Sinbad was growing steadily more worried for Aladdin. She simply still wasn't herself.

She didn't laugh. Didn't smile. She didn't even speak or cry anymore. All there was whenever she was around, was the vague ghost of the person that she had once been. It was as if her very life had ended.

There were a few times where she had scared the hell out of Sinbad and whomever else happened to be around at the time because at some point or another it had been as if she had even stopped breathing. And after scrambling to make sure that she was- still breathing, that is- Sinbad once again took her and let her stay with him in his chambers while he worked.

Finally after almost two weeks of doing this daily and falling into a routine, he woke up at his desk one morning to find Aladdin standing right next to his desk with her small hand resting with it's palm against his cheek. Blinking himself back to awareness, he slowly lifted his head up off of the desk a bit and looked at her.

I mean, _really_ looked at her.

In the faint pinkish-orange of the morning's light, Aladdin looked almost ethereal. She looked so exquisitely beautiful and otherworldly that he felt his eyes widening a little more in shock. Her skin, while still a tad bit paler than normal, had more of a healthy soft pink tint to it. Her wide blue/violet gaze was more violet than the deep, deep blue that he was used to seeing.

And her hair...sometime during the night had come unbound and hung loosely down around her face, neck, shoulders and back.

"Aladdin?" He said softly as he slowly got up out of his chair so that he could grab her and hug her. He moved so quickly that her eyes didn't seem able to track his movements very well. One moment he was reaching out to take her into his arms and the next- he was air born?

His mind barely had time to register what had just happened, much less the reasons why, when his body hit the white marble of his floor hard enough to crack his skull or something. He didn't even have time to truly register the pain that he felt from hitting the floor as he had when suddenly Aladdin was within his sight, her little face just hovering slightly above his own with a slightly panicked expression on her little face.

And he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she hadn't have been aware of what she had just done.

"Mr. Sinbad? I-I um..."

Reaching up, Sinbad cupped her little face in his hand and stared at her with a combination of reverence and awe on his face. "Don't apologize Aladdin. I would much rather be thrown and injured than scare you as I probably did just a few moments ago, than to have you apologize for attempting to protect yourself," He said before then asking, "How are you feeling today? Are you well?"

"I'm feeling...more like myself today." She said, her expression solemn as he pushed himself up into a sitting position with a slightly pained wince.

"I am glad. And I'm sure that everyone else will be as well. Alibaba and Morgiana have been by several times to see you." Sinbad said as he finally managed to get back to his feet and carefully dusted himself off.

Aladdin nodded her head to show that she had heard him and then said, "Yes, I know. I was able to sense everyone who came and went. And theirs lingered from time to time much like your own."

Sinbad said nothing about how surprised he was that she had been able to sense anything when she had been in the state that she had been in, and decided to sate his curiosity another time. Right now Aladdin seemed to be herself again, or as close to it as possible after being in a nearly comatose condition for little over two weeks now, and as such- he needed to get her out of his room and around everyone else again.

She needed everyone to be close to her whether everyone seemed to realize it or not.

They were her support system and only a few of them had been up to par of late.

"Would you like to break your fast with everyone else today?" He asked.

Aladdin took in his slightly hopeful expression and wasn't sure how to respond. On one hand, she did wish to see everyone else and see what they had been doing while she had been...uh...refusing to participate in reality? Life? She really didn't know which one was the better label. And on the other hand, she felt as if she shouldn't just yet.

She worried that they would feel that she was far more trouble than she was worth and not welcome her back among them. She was jolted out of her dark thoughts when she felt Sinbad's hand shift through her slightly tangled hair, drawing her undivided attention to his face as he said softly. "I know that you probably have some reservations about seeing them so soon, but everyone has been worried about you and seeing you acting almost like yourself again would go a long way to ease their troubled minds. But if you do not wish too just yet- then you can always stay by my side for now. I do not mind."

"No. Your right, I should do something to let them know that I'm okay... I guess I'm just worried about how they will react to me being... _around_..." Aladdin said with a grim expression on her pretty face that made Sinbad's heart ache.

"Aladdin, you are first and foremost our friend and ally. No one here is going to react badly to your presence over something that happened many, many, many years ago in each of your former lives. To do so would make us rather petty and cruel, don't you think?"

Aladdin sighed not really wanting to respond to his words. She knew human nature enough to know that even among friends, there were those who would judge her harshly and look at her differently. Still Sinbad was a hopeless optimist and didn't seem to _know, understand_ or simply could not even conceive of this notion within that pretty head of his.

Holding out his hand to her, she hesitated to take it, if only for a moment before she finally slipped her small hand in his and tried to give him an encouraging smile as he walked her towards the door.


	8. Chapter 8

The moment that Aladdin and Sinbad entered the dining room, Aladdin quickly ducked behind Sinbad's legs and hid herself as he paused to greet everyone present. "Morning."

"Sin!"

"You're out of your room today- Is Aladdin alright? Did you finally decide to take a break?"

"Is everything okay? If you needed something, why didn't you send for one of the servants to bring what you need to you?" Ja-far asked in a concerned tone as he stood up from his seat, his breakfast temporarily forgotten as Sinbad smiled at him and the rest of them before subtly pointing down at Aladdin's hiding place and saying,

"Everything is fine, Ja-far. And I didn't ring for any servants because this was simply something that needed to be done in person."

Everyone fell silent for several seconds before Masrur chimed in with a softly spoken, "I can smell Aladdin. Did she finally awaken?" Upon hearing which, Sinbad just grinned and reached behind his legs and carefully extracted Aladdin from her hiding place and nudged her a step or two in front of him.

" _Ta-da!_ Look who decided to rejoin the world this fine morning." Sinbad said happily and then stepped back as both Morgiana and Alibaba shot up out of their seats and jumped the dining room table in an effort to get to Aladdin. And once the two reached the young magi, Aladdin suddenly found herself squeaking in surprise as she was lifted up off of the floor by Alibaba and then sandwiched between the two teens in a small group hug.

"Aladdin- _We missed you so much!_ Are you okay now? Do you feel alright? Do you need anything? Food? A bath? Clean clothing? A foot massage? C'mon kid, talk to us; _please_." Alibaba was talking so fast that Aladdin could barely keep up with what he was saying to her. Much less what anyone else in the room might have been saying.

Feeling the slight urge to panic and throw her friends across the room like she had Sinbad earlier, she had to ruthlessly squash the urge- lest she accidentally injure one or even the both of them.

She hadn't been able to react quickly enough to prevent throwing Sinbad before, in fact she hadn't even been aware of the fact that she had until she had turned her head to see him air born and her arm extended, palm out, indicating that she had either pushed him very hard. Or she had grabbed him before he could so much as touch her and simply tossed him like Masrur and Morgiana usually tossed around people, rocks, carts and other heavy items.

And upon realizing what she had done, she had almost froze up for a moment. Almost being the operative word, once Sinbad had hit the floor she had been so scared that she could have accidentally hurt him or killed him that she had run over to check on him and apologize.

As it was she would have to sneak into Sinbad's treasury at some point in the near future and find something that she could bespell and use as a possible power limiter.

Although knowing her- she would probably need at least a dozen items that she could wear on her person at all times, and the number of spells that she would have to use on them to create limiters would number in the _thousands_ and would probably take at least five days to complete.

After that, her power would be greatly limited unless very specific circumstances were to arise. Then and only then would she be able to tap into her full power.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that she had been removed from the grasp of her two friends and was once again in Sinbad's arms. She felt a large hand lightly tap her cheek a few times and her small body gave a slight jerk in response before she even thought to blink or attempt speech.

Looking up at Sinbad, she noted that he had a worried look on his face and blinked as she said, "Sorry."

"Are you alright? You didn't respond to anyone's voice for several minutes."

"O-Oh. Um, I was...thinking about something that I'll need to do soon and I guess I sort of...got lost in my head a bit." Aladdin said in a slightly hesitant tone. Sinbad gave her a peculiar look for a moment and then nodded his head in understanding and then gently placed her back on her feet again.

"As long as your alright now- then there is nothing to worry about." He said as he then nudged her towards Alibaba and Morgiana again and waited to see what would happen next as Morgiana said in a fretful tone,

"Aladdin, m-maybe you aren't as well as you seem right now. If you want, you can go back to your room and rest a little more and Alibaba and I will bring you something-"

She stopped speaking when Aladdin cut in, "I'm sorry."

Reaching out, both Alibaba and Morgiana placed their hands on her little head and shoulders, drawing Aladdin's undivided attention to their faces as they smiled to let their young friend know that everything was fine.

Any ill thoughts and feelings from before were forgiven.

Happy that everything was as well as he had thought it to be, Sinbad reached out and patted Aladdin on the head and then walked towards the long table across the room as he said, "Come now you three, you can visit more in a little while. Right now it's time to eat something. Especially you Aladdin. I want you to eat as much as possible since you've been missing meals for the past two weeks."

Aladdin merely looked at him for a moment and then nodded her head and silently made her way across the room with her two friends.

Once everyone was seated and several plates had been fixed for her by Sinbad, Alibaba, Morgiana and Masrur (all of whom seemed to be under the impression that she must have been slowly _dying_ of starvation), Aladdin tucked into her food and began eating as everyone began conversing.

Each of the generals welcomed her back from her 'breakdown' with huge grins and jokes and stories of what she had missed during her down time while Yamriha reminded her that she still had magic lessons, which would be waiting for her when she was ready to start them up again. While Sinbad kept a very close eye on her every move.

The meal was about half over when someone seemed to finally notice that she wasn't really participating in any conversation, asking any questions or much else aside from mechanically picking at and then eating her food.

"Aladdin, are you sure that you are well? You haven't said much." Ja-far pointed out gently, causing several pairs of eyes to narrow in displeasure as they stared the magi.

Aladdin started slightly, her small body jumping a little bit in her seat as her fork was gripped a little bit tighter in her small hand just to keep it from slipping from her fingertips and clattering to the plate that she was currently working on. Once she was able to relax herself a little bit, she turned her head to look at the former assassin and slowly placed her fork down on the table and then said in a deceptively calm tone, "I'm fine. I was just thinking, that's all."

"Getting lost in your head again?" Sinbad asked as he placed his wine cup down on the table and then propped his chin up in his hand. She didn't trust herself to speak her reply to the question he had just asked her, so she simply nodded her head and then looked away- feeling a tad bit uncomfortable under the weight of his stare when he suddenly asked, "Do you wish to talk about whatever it is you've been thinking about? It seems to be concerning to you."

Aladdin thought for a moment, her quick mind weighing the pros and cons of telling the dungeon capturer that she would have to leave within the next few days- a week or so at the most, and remain gone for a week or so simply to create her limiters and rest up so that she could return.

And after mulling things over, decided that perhaps she should speak with him about the issue. But she didn't feel right leaving out his generals nor her friends.

"Actually...speaking about it would probably be for the best- however everyone else has to be present so that they can hear what I have to say."

Sinbad blinked at the almost formal way that she spoke, and noted the grim expression on her young face and wondered what it was that could possibly be so bad that it put such a look on her face? Whatever it was, he doubted that he would like hearing about it very much, still he nodded his head and told her that once she and everyone else were finished breaking their fast they would move to the council room and she could say what she needed to say.


	9. Chapter 9

The moment that everyone finished eating, Sinbad got to his feet along with everyone else, and everyone quietly left the dinning room so that they could go to the council room and hear Aladdin speak. Each person had questions as to what the young magi may have to say.

For instance, several wondered if perhaps what she had to say had to so with her breakdown two weeks prior. While others wondered if perhaps she had gotten wind of Sin's plans to ask her to be his bride, and was worried that she was planning to let the king down before he even got a real chance to do _anything_ to win her affections.

However whatever everyone was thinking, simply wasn't spoken aloud for fear of how Aladdin may react to their varied opinions.

Once everyone was within the council room, and Sinbad had taken a seat while the generals went to stand off to the side of their king in much the same manner that Alibaba and Morgiana went off to stand on the opposite side of them with Aladdin directly in between the whole lot of them- they watched in somewhat morbid curiosity as Aladdin turned for a moment and waved a hand in the direction of the door, and saw a barrier form and fall into place around the entire room.

"Okay, that should do it..." Aladdin said before then turning to Sinbad and very calmly stating. "Sorry about the second barrier, however with as easily as the organization seems able to slip in and out of your kingdom's defenses- I simply can't afford to let anyone outside of yourself, your generals and my friends hear what I have to be said. With that said, I...think that during the past two weeks when I wasn't myself- some the memories of several of the prior lives that I've lived, have been returning more and more."

Sinbad looked a little bit ill at the mere thought of such a thing happening. But then he wasn't the only one who looked a tad bit ill.

"Naturally this is a concern to me for many reasons- one of which is the possibility of falling into depravity."

"You truly think that if the memories return, you will fall?" Ja-far asked, his tone worried as Aladdin muttered.

"Among other things, yes." To say that everyone in the room was shocked, would be an understatement, so Aladdin simply kept speaking. "I'm afraid that the return of those memories could do far more damage than simply cause me to fall. There is also the distinct possibility of insanity, a fluctuation in my power that could devastate more than just your kingdom if I remain-"

"Wait! Aladdin are you saying that you want to leave? As in for good?" Alibaba asked.

"What? No. I don't want to leave. Not forever. When I kept spacing out earlier- it was because I was thinking of possibly ways to prevent some of those things from happening."

Taking several moments to regain his composure, Sinbad finally said, "If you have any ideas on how we can help you Aladdin- then _please_ tell us."

"O-Oh, yeah, okay. Well to prevent possible damage to Sindria- I will kind of need access to your treasury so that I can find a few items. Once found I would have to leave the kingdom for a week, maybe a little bit longer. What I plan to do is bespell the items that I find from your treasury so that I can use them to limit my power and abilities unless very specific guidelines or requirements are met. The process itself will take five days, and thousands of spells placed one on top of the other over the period of days simply so that they will work as they should."

"And what exactly are the guidelines or requirements in which these...limiters will work?" Sinbad asked curiously.

"Well, they would restrict the amount of magical power that I would be able to wield while storing a majority of the unused, untapped power within the limiters. I would only be able to access the vast amounts of power my ruhk provides under extreme conditions. Conditions such as the need to defend my own life or that of someone else's. Or if I am needed to heal myself or another, or even participate in combat during times of war. I would have to wear them constantly for them to work properly, and some of them would somewhat visibly resemble shackles much like the kind that Morgiana once wore when she was a slave." Aladdin said as she looked down at the floor before finishing the last part of her sentence so that she wouldn't see the flicker of anger and rage in anyone's expression or eyes.

Deciding to press on regardless of whether someone was paying attention or not, she began speaking again. "I will have to create several limiters that will be linked to my mind and thoughts- which will make knowing if I become a threat to Sindria or even the world itself- much easier. Others will be limit my physical strength and endurance. Several will be used to filter out any hint of darkness from falling into depravity and the rest will simply limit my power."

"Be that as it may- it makes me uncomfortable to think that you would go so far simply to prevent...possible _damages_ to Sindria. Could you explain a little bit more as to what you mean whenever you mention damages?"

"Yes well- what I mean when I mention damages is something along the lines of what would occur- is... How do I put it? Like something akin to the damages a country like this would sustain from a natural disaster. And if that doesn't help you get a clearer picture..." Aladdin said as she walked around the table and moved to stand just in front of one of the maps that Sinbad kept hanging on the wall and then reached out and placed her small hand net to the kingdom of Sindria marked on the map and then said, "Think of it like this... I'm already starting to slip up. The fact that I was able to physically throw you earlier when you startled me is rather telling. And if my power fluctuates like I think it will, everything will happen quickly and without any warning."

"There would be no warning. No way to evacuate, not even enough time to sound the alarm and help the people of your kingdom. You would simply be here one moment. And in the span of a heartbeat- you, your people, even your kingdom could and would be completely and utterly destroyed." Shifting her small hand, she covered the island on the map as if to prove a point as she thought, _Here one second and gone without a trace the next_.

If they still did not understand after this, then there would be no point in explaining anything more to them.

Everyone was silent for a while as they all seemed to absorb what she had just told them when Sinbad finally sighed, and ran his fingers through his bangs as he slowly said, "Then we will simply have to aid you any way that we can to prevent those things from happening. When do you need to look through the treasury?"

"As soon as possible would be ideal."

"Very well, and how many items do you think you will need?"

"Somewhere between ten and twenty. A majority of them should either be bangles, rings, arm bracelets and maybe even a torc with possibly a gem attached to it that I can use to store my magic within- however at least five or six should be earrings."

"I see. And will anyone else know what they are?"

"No one outside of anyone in this room should know unless you discount the other magi's or extremely powerful mages. Aside from that- everybody should be clueless."

"And when did you need to gather everything so that you can depart? And where were you planning to go?" Sinbad asked as he stared at Aladdin from slightly narrowed eyes. He would be lying if he said that this news about his future intended and what she was going to have to do was more than a little bit upsetting.

If anything, he was furious. Though not at Aladdin herself.

Aladdin looked back at him for a moment and then back at the map in front of her and ran her fingertip along the smooth surface of the paper until it came to stop next to an small uninhabited island several hundred miles away. "I think that I would be going here," She said tapping the map before stepping back so that Sinbad could get up and see for himself the place that she had chosen. "However I'll need at least a week or two to gather everything, finalize my plans and regain as much strength as possible."

"I see. And you would return once you finished."

"Yes though the power drain would make me weak for a little while- at least until I get used to the drain."

Sinbad nodded his head before stating, "I will be coming with you. And so will someone else of your choosing," Aladdin opened her mouth to argue with him that that would not be a very smart move however the look that he gave her, made it abundantly clear that he was not asking. Nor was he attempting any sort of negotiation with her.

He had made up his mind to go with her instead of letting her go alone and do what she must by herself. She just didn't know if she should curse him for it, or thank him.


	10. Chapter 10

A little while after the meeting, Aladdin found herself inside the large room that served as Sinbad's treasury along with Alibaba, Ja-far, Hinahoho and Sinbad, all of whom were helping her search for pieces among the countless piles and chests of gold, precious gems and silver.

And so far she had found a delicate white pearl bracelet and something that could serve as a crown. In some ways, the design was much like that of an actual torc, however the width of the intricately woven and twisted metal looked more suited as a head piece.

Looking it over with a critical eye, Aladdin found that she rather liked the scroll design of it, along with the little diamonds and seed pearls embedded in the metal. However what she liked the most was the focal point of the piece, a tear drop shaped deep blue sapphire about the size of her finger tip dangled from a small, thin loop so that it would hang just above her eyebrows if worn.

Satisfied with the pearl bracelet and the headpiece, she set them aside on a small piece of clothe for later and then began to search through the treasury again. Pausing every now and then when someone called out to her and held out or up a piece that they thought might work well as a power limiter.

Sinbad found four torcs all of which were solid gold with gems imbedded within them. Hinahoho found two. Ja-far found one possible limiter, and Alibaba...well, she wasn't entirely sure if he realized just how serious this matter was to her? He kept skipping over with the weirdest stuff.

All of which could mostly be used as weapons. And while that was all well and good if she had been a soldier or something, she sort of didn't need them. Besides, how would it look to others if a magi carried weapons that killed? She wondered as she waved him off and sent him in the direction of one chest in particular so that he could find the earrings that she needed.

Instead of simply looking through it and choosing several pairs- he brought her the whole damn chest and left it at her feet with a happy grin before bounding off to search some more weird stuff out. Leaving her standing there wondering what the hell she was to do with an entire chest of things?

Finally after what felt like far longer than it actually was, Aladdin called off the search for items that could be used as power limiters and stood over the chests that Alibaba had brought her looking a mite... _pissed_ since she would be spending the next week or so going through the stupid thing and picking out the items left that she required.

After Hinahoho had been kind enough to carry the heavier things for her to her room, she then excused herself from everyone's presence to get some work done and then shut herself up in her room and systematically began to look through the chest that Alibaba had given to her- despite the fact that Sinbad had been watching the entire exchange with a funny look on his handsome face- and somehow managed to find seven pairs of earrings.

Some were delicate, dangles that if worn would hang from her lobes in a beautiful display of gold. She had a pair of really, really small hoops picked out, and the rest were studs.

Sighing because she knew that she'd have to pierce her ears in various places just to wear them, she thought of how painful that was going to be and groaned before flinging herself face down on her bed.

She wasn't terribly sure how long she lay like that.

An hour? Two? Maybe more. But sometime between flinging herself down on her bed and simply laying there, she must have dozed off. Because one moment she was internally moaning and groaning about things and the next- she was being shaken awake by Sinbad.

Rolling over slightly, she gave the king a slight glare, not in the least happy about being woken up. Especially since the position she had fallen asleep in had caused a crick in her neck that was hurting and kind of burned like fire. "Mr. Sinbad? What-"

"Sorry to wake you like this, but I just wanted to check on you and see if you needed anything since you missed lunch and it is close to dinner time."

"Something small to eat would be fine... Why are you standing? Don't you know I have a crick in my neck and your tall height hurts my neck?!" Aladdin growled out as she none too nicely reached out and grabbed a strand of his long dark purple hair and pulled on it until he had no choice but to drop to his knees to avoid having his spine snapped in half by the odd angle she was attempting to bend him in.

Once on his knees, Aladdin abruptly released his hair and then placed her hands on his face and looked at him. "Sorry, but the crick really was hurting me." Sinbad merely nodded his head as he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

"Did you manage to find some more items to work as limiters?" He finally asked after a heartbeat or so. Aladdin started to nod her head, but stiffened and yelped- her hand flying up to her nape to try and do something about the protesting muscle there.

"Yeah. I looked through it earlier and found some earrings that I think will work." She said as she slowly dropped her small hands away from his face.

"I see... Aladdin, there is something that I wanted to speak to you about earlier- will you allow me to now? Or would you maybe like to join me for dinner and speak about it?"

She blinked at him for a moment, unsure of what else needed to be said, however figured that he must have some lingering concerns from the meeting earlier that day and so she nodded her head. Sinbad gave her a brilliant smile and quickly jumped to his feet as he quickly said, "Wonderful! I'll send Yam and Pitsi to help you bathe and dress!" And then left the room and Aladdin in total shock.


	11. Chapter 11

A short time later- Aladdin found her room being invaded by Yamriha and Pitsi, both of whom had come carrying... _gifts_...if one could dare to call such things that. One such gift was a pretty-ish sapphire colored dress with gold embroidery. Whereas another was some matching slippers, and jewelry. And of course the last 'gift' happened to be daintily scented floral soap, oil, and lotion for Aladdin's use during and after her bath.

Of course Aladdin's reaction to these items was somewhat unexpected by the two women, after all usually when their king sent such lavish gifts to a female- she was happy to have them. Aladdin however, bared her teeth at the items and growled like a rabid animal might have.

A sure sign that she neither wanted nor appreciated such things.

But then after hiding herself and her gender for so long, neither woman could truly blame her for her reaction. She was used to the unrestrictive clothing of a male, and acting like one. Being a little lady had obviously never even crossed her mind.

Which is probably why Sinbad had asked them to help her out.

And they did, though it surprised them how much Aladdin had fought them when they had bathed her and scrubbed her long hair and her skin with the sweet smelling soap and oil. And then she had fought them some more after the bath, nearly causing Yamriha to tire of her antics and restrain her while she was rubbed down with the lotion, and then had her long hair mercilessly brushed and teased before the two had settled on putting it up in an intricate knot at the back of Aladdin's head and simply braiding what was left over so that the length hung half way down her back while the rest of it was pinned up by intricately carved hair combs.

After which they then dressed her in the dress and slippers and then left the furious magi in her room to await whoever was unlucky enough to be chosen to escort her to Sinbad's room for dinner.

The moment that her bedroom door closed behind them, Aladdin felt her eye twitch almost violently before letting out a loud, blood-curdling scream of pure, _unadulterated_ rage.

I mean, how fucking _dare_ he?!

Just because she was a girl didn't mean that he had leave to overstep himself in such a manner and try and dictate to her how she would dress, smell, look and act! No one had that right. _No one_.

And if by some chance she ever decided to marry a mortal man again in this life time, she wanted someone without a spine that she could walk all over!

Growling again in anger, her mind began to run through her newest pet names for Sinbad. _Stupid_ , _irritating, good for nothing_ \- The knock on her door halted her train of thought just long enough to tell whoever was outside to enter. Glancing towards the door, she noted Masrur standing there holding something and nearly hissed at him like a cat as she gritted out.

"If that is another gift from Sinbad- _I don't want it_."

"It isn't a gift from Sinbad. It's actually from me. I saw Yam and Pitsi come and go and knew that you'd be upset and wondered if you would want to get revenge on Sin for treating you like this." The fanilis said as he held up a small basket with a ribbon tied around it.

Frowning at him for being able to understand why she was upset so well, she then asked, "What's in the basket?" She could sense life coming from it, but couldn't see it.

Marur cracked one of his rare smiles and held the basket out to her so that she could see the contents.

Inside, curled up on it's side was a fluffy pure black kitten.

Aladdin's anger melted away somewhat as she reached into the basket and carefully extracted the dozing feline that she had just startled wide awake and held it against her chest.

"Masrur, it's beautiful!"

"It's a girl. So name her well."

"Oh I will. By the way, is Sinbad allergic to cats?" Aladdin asked, Masrur hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in response to her question, and got a chilling grin from the young magi. "Thanks for the info, I think this little beauty will be coming with me for dinner." Aladdin said, earning a choked laugh from the man before he quickly sobered up and then nodded his head again, knowing that Sin was going to have a devil of a time not breaking out into hives during his meal with Aladdin.

"Come, I will take you to Sin now."

(***************************************************************************************************************************************)

Sinbad was putting the finishing touches on the table where he and his future bride were going to dine when Ja-far finally returned from the task that he had sent him to do. He ran into the room with flowers in hand, and nearly tripped over his own feet before Sin could catch him and thank him for running around like he had as the man handed him the flowers that he had requested and then waved bye to him and left the room wishing his kind luck in snagging Aladdin's heart.

Tonight, Sinbad supposed, could count the beginning of his unofficial courtship of Aladdin. And as such, he wanted everything to be perfect.

The food, the drink, the flowers in his hand, the table and it's settings- Why he had even bathed, shaved his face, and groomed himself rather meticulously before he had dressed himself in some deep violet colored robes and then pulled his long hair back into a high ponytail akin to the one he used to keep it in a few years before he became king.

Quickly checking himself over in the mirror, he checked his appearance over with a critical eye.

Because tonight was such a special night- he wanted to look his best for Aladdin.

Once he finished looking in the mirror, he straightened his clothing and then walked over to the table where their dinner was laid out and carefully set the flowers down next to Aladdin's plate so that she could easily see them and then went to his side of the table to patiently await Aladdin's arrival.

A few moments passed, and he began to feel slightly anxious when finally he heard a knock on his door, and soon after Masrur peeked in. "I've brought Aladdin as you requested." The man said as he looked his king over in what could only be shock, if there had been any preconceived idea that Sin was merely toying with the notion of courting Aladdin and marrying her- it was gone now.

His king didn't dress in his finest for anyone unless he held them in high regard, or he was attending a funeral for a close friend. So seeing him dressed in some of the richest clothing that he had with his hair brushed and tied back like it used to be, was beyond shocking to the fanilis. Not only that but there was the few other details that he managed to take note of.

The table, the foods, the drinks, even the small bouquet of flowers sitting next to one of the plates... _Everything_ practically screamed, 'I'm courting this female!' to the man.

"Thank you, Masrur. Please, let her in." Sinbad spoke to him formally, a sure sign that he had something serious on his mind. Something to do with the magi.

So to say that Masrur felt a little bit badly for handing the magi the kitten that he had found, would be an understatement. He just hoped that the little feline's presence didn't cause all of Sin's very careful planning to go down the drain.

Stepping back out of the way while pushing the door open a little bit wider, Masrur nodded his head at Aladdin to let her know that she could enter now and watched as the young magi stepped through the door with the kitten draped over her shoulder like a tiny fur pelt and smiled at the picture she made.

Whereas he caught the slight hitch in Sinbad's breathe the moment he saw her.

"Hello Aladdin. You look beautiful-"

Aladdin reached up and pried the kitten from her shoulder and attached it to Sinbad's chest and then stood there and watched as it shimmied up from his chest to his shoulder where it perched itself there and let out a fierce sounding growl at being disturbed from it's comfortable place.

Sinbad, unable to react in time just sighed when the little beast sank it's sharp little claws into a particularly fleshy part of his shoulder before it draped itself over the area and simply twitched it's tail in irritation.

"Has anyone ever told you that you lack serious manners? I mean really- since when did being forced to dress like a concubine in your harem constitute a fucking dress code?" Aladdin said in a sickly sweet tone as she reached up and yanked the hair combs from her hair along with a handful of dark blue strands and then handed Sinbad the hair comb and snapped, "Next time you get the brilliant idea of making me dressing a way I do not like, much less am uncomfortable with- do us both a favor- and forget that I'm here."

"Hn. Your unhappy with the gifts I sent I see." Sinbad said, wondering if Aladdin would like anything that she could receive as a gift from him. If she had this much of a problem with the soap, oil, lotion, dress and slippers- he could only imagine how she would react to being handed a crown and a kingdom.

If anything she seemed most likely to take any crown given to her and snap it into pieces and shove it someplace real uncomfortable for him.

"What girl in her right mind enjoys being treated in such a manner?" Aladdin shot back, her tone belying her anger. Sinbad flinched slightly and apologized to her before she seemed to notice that he was wearing formal clothing as well and cocked her head to the side a little bit as she looked him over.

Shoulder riding kitten aside, he didn't look half bad in his formal wear. He had even styled his hair. Though why exactly that was relevant she didn't know. Nor was she going to waste her breath asking since she probably wouldn't get a straight answer from the man anyways.

Sinbad held his tongue, not exactly knowing what to say to her about how she had been 'treated' by him. He had thought that he was doing something nice. It never occurred to him that she might resent it so much. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost completely missed her complimenting his looks.


End file.
